'He could have a big chance' - trainers on their Grand National chances at Aintree

Kim Bailey, trainer of Happygolucky
The plan was to run in the Grand National when he won at Aintree two years ago and providing he runs well at Cheltenham next month, the plan is to run in the Grand National this year.

Henry de Bromhead, trainer of Envoi Allen, Chris's Dream, Ain't That A Shame and Gin On Lime
Envoi Allen is in the Ryanair. We’re not sure about the National yet — we’ll see. We haven’t firmed up anything yet. Chris’s Dream is going for the Festival Hunters’ Chase and we’ll see from there. That seems fair enough for Ain’t That A Shame. I’d say we’ll look to get another run in – there are a couple of options or he might just go straight there. Gin On Lime’s weight is in and around her mark here. I’d say the Cross Country Chase and then go to Aintree.

Gordon Elliott, trainer of Conflated, Galvin, Fury Road, Delta Work, Coko Beach, Pencilfulloflead, Escaria Ten, Farclas, Ash Tree Meadow, Battleoverdoyen, Death Duty and Dunboyne
Conflated has won two Grade 1 chases at Leopardstown including last year’s Irish Gold Cup and we knew he would be close to top weight or have top weight. He will go to Cheltenham first for the Gold Cup and we will see from there whether he will be one for the Grand National this season or next. Galvin started off the season very well winning a Grade 3 at Punchestown but his form has tapered off a bit. He has had a little procedure done on his back and is working well. If I was a betting man, I’d say Fury Road might not go for it this season but we will keep all options open. He would definitely have a nice weight for the race and he ran well at Leopardstown the last day. We just switched Delta Work back to hurdles on his last start to sharpen him up a bit as he had gone a little bit rusty. It was a race we had run Tiger Roll in before he went to Cheltenham and then on to Aintree. It was a great run by Coko Beach to win the Grand National Trial at Punchestown on Sunday. He jumps great and enjoyed the ground. He will definitely run in the race. Pencilfulloflead is a good horse and has a lovely weight on his back. He ran very well in the Thyestes the last day. He is good now, but we just had a few issues with him early on. Escaria Ten just didn’t get home in the race last year. Whether we run him or not I don’t know, but we made a speculative entry to have a look at it. Farclas ran well in the race in 2021 when he finished fifth. The plan was to go there again last year but he got a little setback. He has a lovely weight on his back and all being well he will go back there this year. Ash Tree Meadow probably won’t run in it this year and will instead head for the Irish Grand National. He does run well fresh. He is still a novice over fences though and I would say it is more than likely we will see him in the race in 12 months’ time. We will have a roll of the dice in the race with Battleoverdoyen. He has been a great horse for the yard over the years and he always gives his all and the plan is to go to the National. Death Duty ran a great race in the Grand National Trial at Punchestown on Sunday. For him the race would suit him if he got in off a low weight. He still shows plenty of life at home. Dunboyne put up a great run in the Thyestes and he was only beaten a head. Hopefully he might sneak in. I think the National is a race that is made for him. He could be one that could creep into the places if he is fortunate enough to get in the race.

Peter Fahey, trainer of The Big Dog
I thought he was going to run a good race at Leopardstown [when falling at the second last in the Irish Gold Cup], so I’m definitely happy. He’s in the mix and it’s a nice weight for him. He’s coming into it with a lot to recommend him and I think it’s the ideal race for him. It’s kind of been the plan all year and it’s nice to have a horse going over for it.

Jessica Harrington, trainer of Lifetime Ambition
He’s rated 155 here in Ireland so he’s 3lbs higher in the UK. I think we have to be happy enough with 11st 3lb — it’s a nice enough weight for him.

Nicky Henderson, trainer of Mister Coffey
He needs a few to come out but the plan is to go to the Grand National. He will go to the National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham first, where he will be ridden by Derek O’Connor, then on to Aintree.

Corach Rambler and Derek Fox win the Ultima at the 2022 Cheltenham FestivalCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

Donald McCain, trainer of Minella Trump
He was very busy for a while and he needed a holiday so he’s had a break and he’s back in fast work now. We’ll try and get a run in somewhere but if we can’t we’ll get him away from home. It’s been an ambition to get Tim [Leslie, owner] a runner in the Grand National so if we can get there that’s great.

Tom Messenger, assistant to Dan Skelton, trainer of Le Milos and Ashtown Lad
Le Milos has got a lovely profile and it’s exciting that he’s guaranteed a run. He’s a proven stayer and although he hasn’t been over the fences before, I don’t see it being an issue. He’s one we’re really excited about. Ashtown Lad has been running well over hurdles and we’ve been running him over timber since his win at Aintree. Ideally we’d have run him over fences last weekend at Ascot but the ground was too quick, so we gave him another run over hurdles on Saturday.

Willie Mullins, trainer of Capodanno, Gaillard Du Mesnil, Mr Incredible and Carefully Selected
Capodanno's got a bit of class that maybe the other horses haven't got. I think he's a horse that's still improving and weight won't be an issue if he handles the track. Gaillard Du Mesnil looks like he'll stay the trip and he could have a big chance. He's another Grade 1 novice going for the National and after we saw Noble Yeats winning last year as a novice, maybe the profile of the National is going to change. Mr Incredible ran a great race at Warwick. I was very taken with that run, I loved the way he finished. I think he's got a lot of improvement in him. Carefully Selected won the Thyestes which is a great Grand National trial. He loves jumping. He's coming back right and getting fitter all the time. 

Le Milos: winner of the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury in NovemberCredit: Alan Crowhurst

David Pipe, trainer of Remastered
He is in at Kempton on Saturday and he might go there, but wherever he goes he needs to bounce back. If he doesn’t it might put an outing in the National in doubt. Before Sandown he was having his best and strongest season.

Harry Redknapp, part-owner of Back On The Lash
This would be my first runner in the National and I would love it. I’d love to go and watch him run. I really hope he gets in. He’s a game horse, he’ll go to Cheltenham now and we’ll see where we go. Let’s hope he gets in. It would be fantastic. I love the racing, it’s my big passion.

Lucinda Russell, trainer of Corach Rambler
We haven’t really run him since the Coral Gold Cup so that he could get in the race off this mark. We were tempted to run him but we felt that 146 was probably a nice mark to be going into the race with. He’ll now probably run at Cheltenham [in the Ultima] and we’re very pleased with that as a racing weight – if the top weights run in the National that will suit us.

Robert Waley-Cohen, owner of Noble Yeats
Noble Yeats has come out and won a Listed race and a Grade 2 and he's obviously come on a lot since last year. First things first, he'll run in the Gold Cup and see how he comes out of that, if he comes out of it well he'll go to Liverpool. There's a month in between and he seems to take his racing quite well.

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